


Long Road Home

by kasey1939



Series: Daina Stackhouse [3]
Category: True Blood (TV)
Genre: Dialogue Heavy, F/F, F/M, Family Drama, Humor, Lots of sarcasm, Sexual Content, all kinds of humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-13
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:13:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,727
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24154873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kasey1939/pseuds/kasey1939
Summary: It’s time to go home, but going home again can be one long road filled with all kinds of pitfalls. (Sequel to What About Now)
Relationships: OC/Godric, OC/Other
Series: Daina Stackhouse [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/270490
Comments: 4
Kudos: 39





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

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[](https://www.flickr.com/photos/157700035@N07/49665216287/in/album-72157684881079403/)

Daina wasn’t sure what she was expecting to do or say when she finally reached the roof of the Hotel Carmilla, she just knew that if she didn’t intervene things would go sideways fast. Besides if she stayed with Godric that freed Sookie up to stay with Eric and well that could only ever be a good thing, especially when the alternative was her going back to Bill. Hopefully no matter which way this went the two could find some comfort in each other's arms.

Seeing the resignation on the man’s face nearly hurt, while she hadn’t known him long she had to say that what she _did_ know stacked up well when compared to all the others ghosting around this hell hole since she got here. 

Isabel had seemed smart enough if not a bit distant only to be revealed down the line to be a total sap and while maybe not a bad judge of character at least an extremely bad girlfriend. What kind of a bitch do you have to be to turn a guy from a well respected highly paid attorney into your dish washing boot licking fuck toy and think that somehow it will all just work out fine?

The less said about Stan the better. The guy was a total throwback, there was such a thing as being too set in your ways and that guy had to have been the epitome of that. If you asked her, which of course nobody did, him getting blown to bits was probably one of the better things to come out of the Fellowships little tantrum. 

Maybe that was the problem, when you were surrounded by nothing but amoral assholes that slippery slope of self fuck up-ery got that much slicker. Maybe all mister broody with the yummy tats needed was a reason to turn back from the edge, and she knew just the reason to give him to. 

If he was so tired of living in the dark she’d give him a taste of the light.

"I suppose it wouldn't do me any good to ask you to think this through. I'm guessing you've already done that and this is where your thinking lead you." Though she was dead certain her own train of thought would never kick her out here, she could see how he got to this point and even if he did go through with it she would never judge him. Mostly because he had ordered Eric back to safety. Even in what was looking like his darkest hour he was still looking out for the people he if not loved, though she thought that particular emotion was lingering in there somewhere even if nothing with a set of fangs would ever admit it, held a responsibility towards.

"I have and it is." It was the calm certainty in his voice that nearly broke her resolve to try, nearly. The only image pushing her forward now was the bloody tear tracked look of devastation Eric was sporting while he was all but dragged back inside.

"Hmm, could I interest you in a goodbye kiss before you go then?" Hell even if she failed she’d still have this delicious memory to cherish for her very own, and the slight sting of her own teeth through the muscle of her tongue couldn’t even detract from it. 

The look of wonder in his eyes when he saw the light of day for the first time in what most would consider an eternity was well worth the throbbing sensation that she knew wouldn’t be leaving her tongue for a while yet. 

It wouldn’t have worked so easily but he already had a good deal of her blood in his system from when she “saved” him during the bombing. Okay, so in reality it was less saving him and more just making him a bit more comfortable, but still she was counting it in her plus column for compassion for the year. 

"You wanted light and warmth right? You wanted the sun? I figured you couldn't really enjoy it if you were a human torch straight off, so I may have given you a little protection. It won't last very long thirty minutes tops really, but I thought you might enjoy it." He was looking around them both in awe, the view as the rolling landscape of the city lit up as the sun reflected off of every window and shed light across every shadow was something else, especially if you had never seen it before. She seriously doubted there had been much if any glass for the sun to glint off of in his day.

It wasn’t long before he turned back to her and the excitement and wonder in his eyes began to shift towards a more familiar, and more carnal direction. This she could work with, this she could give him. Her mind was practically purring with anticipation of all the experience held in this one tasty package, and it was all hers for the taking. 

"Is the sun all I get to enjoy?" His question was neither tentative like a human would be in this situation nor aggressive like a vampire, he simply asked and waited for her response, his calm never disturbed by his desire. Now there was some zen to envy.

"What else did you have in mind?" Come on say it, she couldn’t offer herself, he had to take her.

"Well, it has been many years since I've taken a woman in the full light of day. Would you indulge me for a short time longer?" Well when you put it like that how’s a girl supposed to say no?

"I thought you'd never ask." Reaching up, he wasn’t towering over her by any means but he still had a bit of height on her, she opened her mouth to him giving him permission to dominate their time together. Normally she tried to keep at least enough control to be heard, but right here and right now was the best time to give in completely to another person and give in she would.

Their first round of together on the hard graveled roof of the hotel in the hazy morning light was more animalistic than most of her spur of the moment encounters and she was sure to have her fair share of scrapes and bruises after but boy did he know his way around the curves. 

Thankfully he was still enough of a gentleman to allow her to be on top. Gravel against tender human skin was not a fun time for anyone who actually needed to move around in the following twelve hours or more. 

She was fully prepared for him to practically shift her off of him and allow the sun to take him regardless, but this way at least not only had she tried her damndest to show him the meaning of life but she also hadn’t missed out on a truly unique experience all her own either. Win, win she supposed.

When instead of doing that he chose to invite her back inside for a few more rounds she didn’t see the harm in indulging a little. They were all going back soon, why not live the morning to the fullest? And boy was it full.

He had drawn orgasm after orgasm from her willing body until she was rung dry, only to pull a miracle at the last second and make her cum again. By the time he pulled his fangs from her flesh after their last round and practically fell off of her so they could both rest she was more than satisfied with her life choices that day.

But now the harsh light of reality was intruding and no amount of laying still and trying not to move would make it roll on by so she would have to roll first instead.

Daina rolled to the edge of the bed and started getting dressed for the long ass drive back to Louisianna, it was going to be a full car and comfort was key when dealing with family. Feeling Godric stir behind her she turned to look at him over her shoulder, best to do the disclaimers now he seemed like the kind of guy who might just follow her home like a puppy. Only with bigger fangs. Assuming that their multiple romps were enough to reignite that spark of life or at least get it in the vicinity of sparkage. 

“So, normally I am a one and done kind of girl, people get clingy the more they see you naked, but you and I seemed to get on well enough so before you randomly show up in Louisianna to “visit” Eric we need to get a few things straight. Number one, I do not do monogomy I don’t participate in it and I equally do not expect it fuck and let fuck dude I don’t do the jealousy thing. Number two, speaking of the jealousy thing if you begin to display fits of jealous rage or unreasonable like behaviors we will have one conversation about it and only one, if I don’t like that conversation that’s it all over no second chances given. Jealousy kills people. Number three, I am under the age of consent for nearly every state in the US, both here and where I suspect we are both going to end up. While I won’t ever get you in trouble with the law for our fucking habits neither will I get you out of it, your choices lead to your consequences. Finally number four, this is an important one, I do not love you and never will. I can and do like you and may eventually come to care for you but I will always put myself first and will never say those words in a way that is anything but mocking, if you can’t handle that please bail out now.”

Now normally this was when the other body started to hem and haw about how they were different or how they felt something the night before and knew you did to. Worse still were the ones who said they were fine with it while broadcasting loudly and enthusiastically that they would be the ones to change your mind. This mind does not change, at least not without a damn good reason. Godric it seemed belonged to neither of those camps, he simply looked at her as though he were assessing her sincerity in the matter rather than her looking to see his reaction. 

“I accept your terms and I would like to point out that I was going to inform you of my plans to stay with my Childe, not just appear and claim coincidence. Such actions are beneath both of us.” Huh. Vampires really were different. “Besides to do so is truly my only option at the current moment, I have quite effectively burned my bridges in Dallas.” Oh right the whole meeting with Nan thing, she’d nearly forgotten about that. 

“You going up in flames with those bridges any time soon?” If he wasn’t going to be around long, either by his own choice or some decree from on high, it was best not to get attached. Not that she ever got overly attached to anyone, but still a girl needs to know these things.

“I will likely be chastised for my lack of forethought or cunning whilst dealing with the Fellowship and its many members, but nothing beyond that. My age affords me some privileges after all.” She didn’t know about privileges but it sure afforded him some serious skills. Even now her body was humming with a need to reenact some of their more memorable gymnastics from the previous hours. 

No! Other things take precedence, today was the day to go home or well tonight was the night anyhow. She had lingered long enough for the sun to begin to set, it would be fully beneath the horizon in a little over an hour which meant one thing. The gatekeeper. 

Bill.

Nothing was going to stop her, besides now she had her own vampire to throw into the verbal fray if need be and a spare in the wings just in case. Oh the irony.

* * *

Sookie was trying not to let her exasperation show, she was sure she was failing miserably but she was trying. Why did Eric always have to be such a… butt. All she wanted to do was get to the plane so she could sit with Bill and try to forget this entire trip, this whole adventure was just too much for her. 

“Eric, stop detaining us if there is something you wish to speak with me about we can do so on the plane.” Bill bless him was trying to get past the viking mountain in their way, unfortunately he wasn’t having much luck. 

“Why would I wish to speak with you Bill? Has something happened worth discussing?” Argghhh he was so infuriating, she was just about to let loose and give him a piece of her mind about his suggestive looks, if he thought he could hold that blood thing against her forever he had another think coming. Before she could speak her bag was picked up and moved grabbing her attention from Eric and settling it on her now solemn faced brother.

“Daina says we’re taking a family road trip back to Bon Temp, no plane ride for you Sook.” Damn it.

“Jason I just want to go home and going by car will take forever, just tell Daina we’ll have whatever talk she wants to have when we’re all back in Bon Temp.” Or better yet when they’re in Bon Temp and Daina is back in her own home miles and miles away. She was brought out of her thoughts by her brothers snort of derision. 

“Well if you want to have that conversation with her be my guest I’ll be right over there by the door waiting to get into whatever car she somehow managed to wrangle for us.” His eyes said it all even without her own abilities to broadcast the truth to her. This was not the hill he was prepared to die on, not after everything else. 

He knew he deserved whatever butt chewing he was about to get from their cousin and also thought she should sit through her own with an open mind. Apparently Jason thought they were both out of line lately and that this little ride would help them all see sense or at least see each other again. Damn it.

* * *

Eric was intrigued by the by play between the Stackhouse siblings. The elder of the two seemed to think that once Daina made a decision following along behind her was the inevitable conclusion and while the lovely Sookie looked mutinous he could read from her set muscles and tense posture that she believed it as well. Interesting.

Glancing towards Bill to see what he thought of his authority apparently being usurped by a teenage girl he wasn’t disappointed by the scowl on his face, the man looked like someone had just shoved a lemon up his ass. 

While he had known that Daina would be a good ally to have in his corner during his pursuit of Sookie due to her uncanny ability to talk others around to her way of doing things, especially her head-strong cousin, so far everything she had caused to happen had been a minor change in circumstance truly. Now it was becoming clearer just what place the delectable Daina held in this family and it was far higher than he had assumed. This could be interesting indeed, assuming she managed to get her way this time as well.

* * *

By the time Daina made it down to the lobby Sookie was already there with Bill and Eric, the two vamps looked like they wanted to eat each others faces and not in a fun way. Jason was waiting around by the doors glaring but otherwise staying hands off in the fight he’d never win. Good all the players were on the board, now it was time to change things up a little. 

“Sorry I took so long, you ready Sook. I can see Jason is more than eager to get this trip started.”

“We are ready to depart.” Bill took a step closer to Sookie like his mere proximity would somehow make him part of their group. Wrong. She valiantly fought off the laughter but she knew the shit eating grin was still in full force. Oh well, you win some you lose some.

“Sorry Billy-boy, this is going to be a family road trip. You’ll be hitching a ride with the other vamps. Which reminds me Godric is tagging along, ain’t that great. I know I personally am thrilled.” She wiggled her eyebrows at Sookie suggestively, just for fun. The look on her face as the implications set in was well worth the whining she knew she was about to put up with. 

“Daina I can’t just leave Bill behind. We came here together and we should leave the same way.” _It’s only polite._

_“Hells bells Sookie you’re leaving a state not a party, you don’t have to exit the same way you entered. Besides you weren’t exactly together on that trip he was in a box the whole time so if you want to get technical about it you came here with me, the person who sat beside your neurotic ass through the entire flight over. So don’t you think it’s polite to leave the same way, sitting next to me.”_

_“I suppose but why can’t we just go on the same flight as Bill.”_ Because that would ruin my entire plan, my plans do not get ruined.

“Sookie we need to de-program Jason, talk about some of our current life trajectories more specifically the ones that are bound to crash and burn without an extreme course correction, then there’s the whole Gran mess we need to give some serious attention to you and Jason got a good start on it last night but we are far from done with that particular little bundle of thorns, plus we so need to talk about all the vampire S-E-X I totally just had. We can compare notes, see how well Bill-y boy here stacks up.” She leaned towards Godric and shielded her mouth with her hand before stage whispering. “Don’t worry we got this.” Turning back to her cousins she grinned playfully but made sure they knew she meant business before continuing. “Lets ride.”

Sookie looked longingly towards Bill but knew better than to argue with her once her mind was made up, especially after the whole Fellowship disaster. She was taking charge of this family at least for the next five hours or so. Turning away from the smirking hunk of vampire she ushered them both out of the lobby and into the waiting Ford Focus. 

It starts.


	2. Down the Road

  
  


Godric wasn’t sure what exactly he was feeling as he watched the trio leave the hotel, it had been so long since his emotions had actually become a driving force for him in anything it was going to take some time to untangle it all. Looking towards his clearly amused Childe and his equally un-amused subordinate at least gave him a place to start this new leg of his journey. Protocol.

Shifting slightly to stand before the Sheriff of Area 5 of the Great State of Louisiana he pitched his voice low for the question that needed to be asked even though the answer was certain.

“Sheriff, I petition for permission to move to your area.” He knew the smirk currently gracing his lips was inappropriate for the situation but he could not contain himself. 

“Permission granted.” Normally there would be a waiting game to be played, checks and interviews to establish the hierarchy, no such need existed between them. 

“I thank you.” He was about to ask after their transportation plans, if they did not suit his taste he would be making his own way to his new area, when he was interrupted by Nan. Of course this self entitled youngling would continue to plague them. 

“Come along _former_ Sheriff.” She turned back and began to walk towards the door she had just come from, making it nearly halfway before she realised she was not being followed by anyone at all. She turned back towards them once more her face showing the indignant fury only ever seen on the young of their kind. “I said come along!”

“Don’t you dare speak to him that way!” His Childe’s fury burned within him like an open flame now that their connection to one another had been blown wide open by his own return to _life_ under the hands of his beautiful companion.

“I will speak to him any way I please! He really screwed up here and now he has to answer for that.” Oh to be so young again and believe that rules and penalties truly did level all playing fields. Luckily for him and his current plans for the near future that was rarely, if ever, the case.

“Actually I will be going with my Childe back to his territory and there is nothing you or anyone else can do to stop me. Before you begin attempting to threaten me with your precious Authority or any _other_ council you may follow let me remind you of one thing dear. I am over two thousand years old, there are only four vampires my equal in this part of the world and maybe twice that elsewhere, I shall not be forced by anyone in any matter unless I choose to comply. I choose not to comply with this.” Staring her down he allowed his age to show behind his eyes and was gratified to see her wilt in fear before him. She may be the face of vampire’s but she would never truly have any power over them. 

“Eric, what are your accommodations for the trip back to your territory? I wish to depart as soon as possible.”

“Yes, Maker.” Yes, indeed.

* * *

Sookie wasn’t sulking no matter what anyone said, she really wasn’t, but cheese and rice all she had wanted to do was to get home as quickly as possible so her life could go back to the way it was back when it all made sense. Was that too much to ask? Darn right it wasn’t, but instead here she sat in a car full of her relatives and even more full of awkward silence trying not to cry. 

“You’re not the only one feeling the awkward of this situation you know. You could help it along by maybe getting rid of the silence. What do you think we need to talk about?” She didn’t think they needed to talk about anything at all, they should just mind their own beeswax about her life and her choices! She had just opened her mouth to say just that, in her sternest voice of course, when she was interrupted by her brother. Apparently he thought Daina had been talking to him.

“I know I ain’t done the right things lately, really I do know that. I just sorta thought that--” He trailed off seemingly at a loss for how to continue, oh Jason.

“You thought that by joining up with the fellowship you were making up for the not right things you did before you found them?” Oh. Daina hadn’t been talking to her at all.

_You’re not the only one in the car Sook, you thought so yourself just a second ago. Just cause you feel like you don’t need this particular come to jesus don’t mean the rest of us feel the same._

Awkward indeed. Thankfully Jason didn’t hear any of it though.

_Do you really think him not hearing it makes it go away? You couldn’t hear Bill either, did that make what you **know** he was thinking any less hurtful?_

That wasn’t the same thing. Bill was her lover.

_Yeah, I agree they are very different. Bill is your lover and what he did wasn’t very kind at all, but Jason is your brother and that thought you just had that I didn’t even need to hear by the way cause it was written all over your face wasn’t very kind either._

Wait, if she had been able to read her face, could Jason? Did Jason?

_Of course he can Sookie, most people without our little gift have to get by on what they see and hear and Jason is no different. While you’ve spent a lifetime reading minds he’s spent even longer reading faces. Yours in particular._

Oh no. She hadn’t meant to trivialize what he was going through by being a brat, she just wasn’t in the right place to be talking about her life.

_Good thing we’re not focusing on you right now then huh. Now come on, if you want to apologise for being a brat all you got to do is be here with us. Participate. Let him know that you understand and you forgive him, cause honey he is carrying around a lot of regrets right now and what he really needs is for you to listen and love him anyway._

Jason was filled with regret? But he always seemed so in the moment about life, so sure of himself. Did she miss this? How could she miss this?

_Because you don’t listen sweetie._

Of course she didn’t listen to Jason, Gran always said that family more than most deserved their privacy. She always tried her hardest to stay out of Jason’s head.

_Of course Gran said that, she had her own regrets buried deep inside and she wanted them to stay hidden. I wasn’t talking about his thoughts though Sook. You were always so busy staying out of his head, you pushed yourself out of his life. You don’t need to be a telepath to know he’s hurting, you just need to be paying attention. Maybe you could pay attention now, cause if you sit back and listen I think even if you might not be ready to talk about your life. He is._

Had she let herself be pushed away from Jason? She didn’t think so, but then again she might be too close to it now to see where she stood with him or anyone else at this point. She had been questioning her place in so many lives ever since Daina showed up, but she had never questioned her place in her brother's life before. Maybe she should.

_And maybe you should just listen. Questions are all well and good, but sometimes they aren’t really needed._

She could do that, if he needed to talk she would be here for him. 

“Yeah I guess I did. I got so twisted around lately and I did so many things that I just can’t seem to wrap my head around on my own you know. I thought maybe I could figure it out if I had someone else to weigh-in on it all, and since most of my problems at least lately seemed to involve vampires or their blood, I thought the fellowship would be the perfect place to find myself again. How dumb is that.” Oh, Jason, how had she missed this? He sounded so small and lost, he couldn’t have devolved into this overnight. Had she really let herself get so wrapped up in Bill and her dealings in the supernatural world that she let her family hurt without trying to help?

_More Bill than anything else, but yeah pretty much._

_Could you please stop rooting around in my thoughts?_ Maybe family didn’t need as much privacy as she had given Jason, but some things didn’t really need a comment section attached.

“Not dumb at all, but maybe not the smartest move either. Did it help?” How could the fellowship have helped? They were bigots.

_He said all he was looking for was someone to help him see his way through it all. That means he went looking for someone to talk to and honey if bigots can do anything it’s talk. Besides, I didn’t ask you, I asked him. If he thinks they helped I for one want to know what they said so I can nip it in the bud now if it’s something that needs to be shook loose before he actually starts taking their advice. Whatever advice it was._

“Nah, I was so busy trying to distract myself by being the best I never really got comfortable enough to really talk to anyone about what I done. Then the whole thing with Sarah kicked off and after that it seemed a bit wrong to try asking her husband to fix my life.” She had almost forgotten about his little affair with the reverend’s wife, in the church. She was just about to let him have it when once again Daina decided to butt into her mind. This was becoming a habit with her.

_This trip is about airing out our problems not attacking each other after each admission. If you lay into him now not only will he shut down before he gets it all out, but I swear when we get into your fuck ups I will tear into you just to make it fair. Capiche? And if you want me out so bad then why don’t you start keeping me out? Why is all the work supposed to come from me? You’re just as much a telepath as I am._

“So talk to us, we’re not exactly in a place to judge. What’s your biggest regret?” Probably that he ran off to the Fellowship to begin with, she knew it was a sore point for her. How could he just up and leave like that without so much as a note.

“Eddie.” Who the hell was Eddie? And why did Jason sound so sad when just saying his name. She thought she knew all his friends but she didn’t know this one. Then again after Rene Jason had stopped introducing her to most of the people in his life, Eddie could be a post Rene addition.

“Who’s Eddie?”

“He was a vampire that Lafyette knew. When I was at the height of my ah… my addiction Amy and I kind of kidnapped him and kept him tied to a lawn chair for his blood.” He did what? Did he realise how much trouble he could get into with the vampires for that?

_Eric already said something to him while we were in Dallas, so for now at least I think he’s in the clear. At least on the hell front, legally speaking it’s a bit of a grey area so hush up around the fuzz. No need to go around confessing to crimes nobody’s even asking about. How embarrassing would that be? How’d they catch you? Well **catch** might not be the right word. He wouldn’t be able to show his face around the jail from embarrassment. Oh the humanity._

What? Eric knew? Eric knew and hadn’t hurt Jason? This whole conversation was throwing her mind through every loop ever imagined. She decided to ignore the rest of it, sometimes with Daina that was the only sane choice a person could make. It wasn’t rudeness it was self preservation.

_You say po-tae-toe, I say bitch what you mean you ignore me._

“Tied to a lawn chair? What kind of vampire was he?” He did sound pretty weak, or maybe just disinterested like Godric had been. She was pretty sure if the Fellowship had just tied him to a lawn chair he might have stayed there just to see what would happen next.

_I would have, I could just see it now. Question: So fellas where exactly to you see this going? Answer: Barbeque. Hahahahah._

“He was really new to the life. He told me he became a vampire to attract men, but once he changed he just sort of stayed in his life from before, stuck in the routine of the familiar. I don’t think he had any vampire friends or nothing, cause he was trading Lafyette sex for some of his blood on account he didn’t know how to use that eye whammy thing yet.” He didn’t even know how to glamour? That was one of the first skills a vampire was taught. Survival one-oh-one. If a vampire didn’t know how to make humans forget half the crap they saw them do, that vampire didn’t live for very long at all.

_So we’re just going to blow by the rape implications there, oh-kay if that’s how we plan to roll so be it. Guy says he’s paying a hooker with blood because he doesn’t know how to force compliance is presumably good looking young men yet, but you’re right let’s focus on the lawn chair. That’s the bigger problem here._

Sookie thought about responding, though she wasn’t sure how and keeping up with two conversations was starting to give her a headache, but all she could hear from Daina after her little tirade was whistling. 

_What you don’t like my everything’s fine here no need to investigate this area I’m just a normal citizen whistle. I learned it from the cartoons and everything._

“So super new then, and with a shitty vamp daddy to boot. So what happened with Eddie?” Yeah, had Jason left him tied to a chair while he went off to find himself? Somehow she doubted it with how sad the conversation seemed to make him.

“Well I was the one taking care of him most days, and we got to talking a lot and after a while I just started to feel bad about it all you know. He was just this regular guy, he even had a couple of kids from a marriage that fell apart though he didn’t talk to them much. He was like any of the guys I work with on the road crew, just trying to get by in life, so I decided to let him go, you know. But Amy saw me trying to untie him and she staked him. She said he would have killed us both for what we done did to him, keeping him prisoner and all, but I ain’t so sure he would have. Guess I’ll never really know now though.” Jason killed a vampire?

_No, weren’t you listening. Jason kidnapped a vampire. Amy killed a vampire and didn’t I hear she was dead now anyway? Problem solved. On the plus side this whole thing with Eddie seems to have cured him of his addiction in record time. Though I will be keeping an eye on that for the next ten years at least, just to be sure. Plus if it’s any comfort I seriously doubt Eddie would have **killed** Jason. Amy, maybe she sounds hardcore bitchy, but he and Jason had begun to bond and from all I’ve heard of Eddie he probably would have wanted to continue that relationship._

“Is Eddie why you went to the Fellowship?” How was Daina keeping up commentary with her and following along with Jason so easily? There wasn’t even a lag with her questions and she seemed to be paying attention to everything he says.

_What you can’t do that? I’m just kidding. Years of practice added together with me just being phenomenal as a person. And you forgot I’m doing it all while driving, you have such faith in me it’s inspiring, truly it is._

“He’s part of it, I guess. But he was really just the tail end. It was just… everything.” Everything?

“Everything?” _See how annoying an echo can be?_

_Real mature Daina._

“Gran dying, Amy dying, Rene killing both of them and trying to kill Sookie. Me getting yanked in and out of the police station seemingly every other day for one thing or another. My addiction getting so out of control, to the point I even used Tara’s feeling for me against her to get what I wanted. That I put not only me and Amy but Lafayette in danger too, Lala was the person everyone would point to if Eddie just up and vanished and I didn’t even think of that, all I could think about was the blood. Just… my life falling to pieces. I kept doing these things, and it was like I could see myself doing them but I couldn’t stop, you know. I just wanted it to stop, and I figured if I got out for a while it would. Guess I was wrong.” She knew that feeling well, she wasn’t sure there wasn’t a person in Bon Temp who didn’t. Feeling stuck in a cycle of bad decisions and regret, with no way out.

“Not wrong exactly, you just got out to the wrong place, is all. Anything else you want to get off your chest?” What more could there be? Her head was already hurting just from the revelation of how much she had failed her brother. She had thought that by giving him space and respecting his privacy she was being a good sister. In reality she was just letting them both drift apart.

_You aren’t the only one in this relationship Sookie. It’s not all up to you. He has to reach out just as much as you have to reach back._

“Sorry I slapped you at the funeral Sook, I been meaning to say it, but things just kept getting in the way you know.” He sounded so ashamed, she just wanted to hug him and tell him everything was forgiven, but even she knew that wasn’t what he needed right now. He needed her forgiveness sure, but they had a lot of relationship rebuilding to do before they could get to a place where he would really believe it. 

“Yeah I know Jason, things have been getting in the way for me too.” That was definitely the theme of their lives lately.

“Well, I think we’ve made some amazing progress so far. Who’s hungry I see a sign for a diner up ahead and I am craving some good old fashioned road trip food, ala Waffle House, but you know better. Not that it’s hard to do better than Waffle House if you’re you know, sober.”

Sookie tried but she couldn’t keep the laughter in, it was just like Daina to go from serious therapy level discussion straight into food and levity.

_Of course I did. Who wants to digest guilt when you could be digesting some bad coffee instead._

_Does the coffee have to be bad?_

_What kind of a question is that Sook? Of course it does._

Maybe this trip wouldn't’ be so bad after all, then again they haven’t gotten to her mistakes yet. If Jason’s had been a little dip from where she thought he was in life, hers were going to be a cliff drop.

_Trust me Sook, it’s not going to be anywhere near as surprising as you think it will._

What was that supposed to mean? 

As they pulled into the parking lot for the nearly deserted Diner she decided to let it go for now. It would be her turn soon enough, no need to rush anything.

* * *

Godric it would seem had been a bit hasty in his departure from Texas. He had wanted to get to his new home as soon as possible so he could try and have everything at least planned for his new residence even if it wasn’t all secured by the time that Daina arrived back with her relatives. He felt it was needed to show the girl that he was independent of her in every way possible, and give her no cause to think him too clingy for her tastes. She had become his life line for the immediate future of his immortality and he would do nothing to have her choose to leave him prematurely. 

He held no delusions that she would stay with him constantly or indefinitely however he did see her as a true companion and one day perhaps if she were to agree, a Childe. She would make a marvelous vampire; he was sure of it. Unlike this creature he was currently trapped with. If Compton did not get her under control soon he would, and judging from the shifting and twitching of his Childe he would not be the only one. Or perhaps Eric simply knew his temperament still even after so many years and he was waiting to see what his actions would be. All he knew at this point was that if this girl did not stop crying so close to his ear soon she would be exiting this plane before they landed. It was night and they weren’t over too rough of terrain they should all survive the sudden descent easily enough, or at least he and his Childe would and that was all that mattered really.

“I just don’t understand why I had to come with you and not go with Hoyt! He and I are just starting out and you just busted in and ruined our first time together and now you won’t even let me see him. How is that fair?”

This Childe was truly a child in all ways it would seem. Whoever had chosen this red haired weeper had truly been setting everyone involved up for failure. There was annoying and then there was the level she was currently reaching, a level of ear piercing, eye bleeding, mind numbing screeching he had never seen in all his years walking this earth. Compton should just command her to silence until they left their current company, though he was not sure why he thought he would find common courtesy ingrained in a Childe of Lorena. 

Closing his eyes he chose to focus internally instead, touching on his small connection to Daina for a moment to find her equally happy and frustrated, before drifting away and allowing himself to begin committing every moment of the night before to his memory. Every sight, every sound, every smell, and every sensation. Every moment of his time with Daina as she awakened his soul and ensnared him completely was precious to him and he would not lose any of it to time.

* * *

Eric wasn’t overly familiar with the feeling of embarrassment but he brushed up against it enough to know when it was looking him in the face, and he was feeling it now. Godric, his Maker, was sitting next to a whining eternally love struck teen and her Maker was sitting next to her brooding and doing nothing about it. He didn’t even have Pamela with him to provide a counter balance to the level of stupidity they were being forced to sit through. At least if she were here they could have some caustic remarks to listen to instead of nothing but teen angst on repeat.

This was not the first impression of his Area he wanted to project, not that things could have gone much better with Bill and _Jessica_ anywhere in the mix.

This girl lacked the simplest of knowledge about not only the vampire hierarchy but also her place within it. There were certain things you did not do when a vampire as old as Godric was in the room and crying about your interrupted sex life was one of them. He had a feeling that the only reason that his Maker hadn’t reached over and permanently silenced the brat was because it would take too much effort and he was only very recently returning to the living, so to speak. And Compton was doing nothing to help the situation or to really help his Childe at all. 

He never thought he would see the day when Lorena was cast in the light of a good Maker, but the day had come. Even though she was as mad as the proverbial hatter when Bill had gotten on his bad side when they first met Lorena had at least intervened on his behalf verbally if not physically. Bill was doing nothing, it was like he wasn’t even aware of what was happening around him or the absolute mess his Childe was creating for herself. She was digging herself a hole filled with delayed retribution because while his Maker may be in a seemingly forgiving mood at the moment, he never forgot such transgressions. Never.

His Area had no idea what was coming, and he was perverse enough to be looking forward to the fireworks once Godric was truly feeling himself again.

* * *

Bill knew that Daina held a great deal of sway within the Stackhouse family but for her to be able to separate him from his Sookie was crossing several lines. He would be dealing with both her and Sookie, who had followed another over him, once they were all back in Louisiana where he could call upon the Queen for help. 

Sophie-Anne wanted to collect the entire Stackhouse family, including the blandly human Jason, so he would simply set things up for Daina to go next. That would get her out of his life and relationship while also giving him time to come up with a plan to convince Sophie-Anne to allow him to have Sookie. She would still be a part of the Queen’s retinue of course and available to her whenever her gifts were needed, but he would be her keeper. He would be the one to see to her needs and hand down any punishments ordered. Everything would be as it should, once that little upstart was gone.

Deciding there was nothing more to be gained by dwelling on things he could not change he allowed himself to indulge in his favorite pastime of late. He turned his attentions farther inward and checked on his darling's emotional state through his blood in her veins. If Daina was upsetting her it would make his case against the girl far easier to make, no one wanted to spend time with someone who was constantly causing them misery after all.

He found much of what he thought he would. Shock. Confusion. Anger. And-

Bill sat up straighter; Sookie!


	3. Pit Stop

  
  


They pulled into the parking lot of Good Eats, a bold claim if you thought about it, in that hazy time where it’s too late to really be night any more but too early to be morning yet. The time of night when the only places open are the ones that never seem to close. Walking inside they found a waitress, a cook, and a lone busser in the corner playing on her phone. Besides them there was one other customer, a trucker, who had definitely seen better days finishing off his biscuits and gravy in the corner booth.

“Hello, welcome to Good Eats will it be just the three of you?” Their waitress was trying to stay chipper, probably a job requirement or something, but the late hour was making her smile wilt a bit.

“Yes darling.” She watched Jason wink at her and the corresponding straightening of both her spine and her smile. Sometimes having someone you find attractive flirt with you was all it took to perk up your day, no matter what time it was.

She led them over towards the far wall, away from everyone and everything affording them some privacy in the public area, which she was grateful for even though she knew it was done so that the staff could talk about them without being overheard. Jason kept pouring on the sugar, his confessions from the car having weighed him down so much he needed the pick me up of making a girl laugh and smile. 

Some of his jokes were corny as hell, but that’s what they were meant to be. The old tired pick up lines were never meant to be used seriously anymore, they were laughter inducing ice breakers that everyone knew by heart for their absolute hilarity and he was playing it for all it was worth. Asking a more homely girl if she was from Tennessee or if it hurt when she fell from heaven could sometimes be everything to someone who never had that before. Not to mention some of the comebacks from people who knew the punchline were fun to hear, some people go really creative with these things.

Daina felt her smile begin to slip when she caught Sookie’s glare from the corner of her eye. She and Jason had just been having a little fun, sex charged word games were a big part of their lives and it was always a good time without there really having to be any intent behind it, but Sookie was glaring at them both like they had committed a mortal sin. She had had just about enough out of little miss righteous path over there and it was just about time that they deflated her head back down to a normal size.  
She waited for their blushing waitress to move away from the table, there was no need to bring a complete stranger into their soon to be argument. 

“Problem Sook?” She could already hear the diatribe going around and around in her mind and knew that all she needed was an opening for her to be off and telling them both how wrong they were. 

Poor Jason was looking between them both so confused, he had no idea what could have possibly happened between walking in here and now that would have changed the mood so much. Because while Sookie might be stewing in rage, she was feeling quite frosty herself, she would not be lectured at by _anyone_ and her dear cousin was about to learn that lesson first hand.

“No problem, I just think the two of you could tone it down for once. You kept me from traveling home with my boyfriend and I don’t need to be constantly reminded by watching the two of you make eyes at everyone in your line of sight.” She sounded so mopey, almost like a sulking teen who hadn’t got their way and now was determined that the whole world should sit up and take notice. She knew Sookie had wanted to go with Bill to try and repair some of the damage done to their relationship by this trip to Dallas, but that was exactly why she had forced this alternative. She didn’t want Bill getting his claws back in her so deep before she had the chance to really process everything that happened between them.

That didn’t mean, however, that she was going to sit here and let herself be dumped on because someone else was having a bad day.

“Oh sweetie that was just a little back and forth, not a declaration of intent. Sure we could pursue it and possibly score, but that wasn’t what we were doing just then so no need to get your wimple wrinkled.” She would not be lectured at because Jason cracked wise and she smiled!

“I am not a nun!” Sookie sounded more scandalized that someone would treat the calling of being a nun like a bad thing than anything else and that was part of her problem. She had no problem with religion, she had her own personal beliefs that sometimes might not match up with the ones around her, but Gran had overdosed the poor girl on the stuff. In a normal Joe-blow it might be an annoying quirk to be tiptoed around, but in a telepath dealing with all manner of boogity her unyielding belief in the divine was worrisome.

Yes, have your beliefs and keep them close to you whatever they may be but if she didn’t learn to bend her thinking a bit she was going to miss a lot of things and offend even more people. She was running full speed into a world full of vampires older than Jesus, demons who ran law firms or acted as bodyguards, werewolves who gave up on the idea of the almighty after the first time every bone in their bodies broke and reformed and on and on the list went. If she offended the wrong person with her vocal stubbornness to hold to the beliefs she was raised with she could end up in way over her head with no one around to pull her out.

“No you’re just a prude and I will not be scolded simply because you’re naive.” Maybe this test wall she was about to plow into would be enough to knock a bit of sense into her.

“I am not naive.” By this point Sookie was leaning over the table huffing and puffing her mighty mouse fury while Jason was leaning as far back as he could get with his arms crossed over his chest in a bid for self protection. Good luck dude, this was about to get messy.

“Oh really? Let me count the ways, since you don’t seem to want to remember for yourself. Bill in all his fake southern glory, could the man have been any more obvious from the start. Rene in all his fake everything, you are a telepath Sookie how did he slip by you for so long? Taking Jessica to see her family right after she got turned into a vampire with no idea what situation you were walking her back into or what stress could do to a baby vamp. Your blatant disregard for your gifts which directly led to the absolute shit show of how you interacted with that poor bellboy in Dallas. Your closed minded defense of Gran like the woman was a saint rather than a human being. Need I go on?” The sad part was that she could go on, Sookie had managed to fuck up in every direction without even trying and it all had one root cause, she just refused to see it. Until today.

“That wasn’t-” Sookie tried to defend herself, but she wasn’t in the mood to hear nothing but a stream of denials coming from that girl's mouth. All she had to say for herself was that that wasn’t what happened,without offering up any explanation of what actually did happen in her mind. If she wasn’t ready to truly defend her actions yet, then she wasn’t ready to really jump in yet either.

“Yeah it was and the sooner you start truly taking responsibility for your mistakes the better off you’re going to be honey. I was going to wait to have your personal come to Jesus until we were back in the car where it could be a bit more private but obviously you feel like you just can’t wait so we’ll have it now. Where do you want to start?” She had a feeling she already knew, but she had to ask.

“I don’t.”

“Fine, since you don’t want to participate then you can just sit there and listen, you can do that can’t you? Jason is there anything about Sookie’s recent life choices you want to discuss with me since her highness over here seems to think she can do no wrong and doesn’t need our help?”

“I’m not sure that's really a good idea.” She noticed he didn’t say he didn’t have a bone or two to pick just that it might not be a good idea to start digging them out in public. Sookie’s smug face however seemed to see his deflection as a defense of some kind. Thankfully she didn’t have to point it out, one look at her smile had Jason sitting up and leaning in for the dog fight. Her attitude just wrote a check her ass was about to feel for a while to come… or something like that. “But since you asked, sure.”

“The floor is yours dear cousin.” She knew she would have to jump in with a point or two herself before this whole chapter could be closed for the night but Jason deserved his shot at her too.

“Well, I guess the first thing on my list would be just how judgmental she can be about _my_ sex life. If she don’t want to crawl up in bed with nobody that’s her business, and I respect it not saying word one beyond the occasional offhand remark about how it might help her relax but she don’t show me that same bit of respect. Every time I see her she’s all up in arms about this girl or that girl they’re either not good enough for me or there’s too many of them or I need to keep it all a bit more under the radar cause people keep talking about me around town. Well damn it girl, I don’t care what people have to say about it or about me, people gonna gossip no matter what lord knows that Gran taught us that much with her never ending coffee times with Mrs. Fortenberry and the things they would go on about every damn day. If it don’t bother me I don’t see why it should bother you. Yeah sure I got problems with sex, I know I do some even say I might be a bit of an addict in that way, but I don’t need my own sister coming at me over it. That don’t help either of us.” As he went on he got more and more heated until he was gritting the words out between clenched teeth at his stunned sister.

“Well I only ever tried to help you Jason and for you to sit here and say I haven’t well it hurts me deeply.” Normally the sight of tears in her cousins eyes would have her backing off for a minute to give the other girl time to collect herself and get ready for the next round but that was part of her problem really. Too many people backing off when they should be pushing forward.

“He didn’t say you ain’t tried to help him, Sook, he just said that the help you were offering wasn’t the help he needed. Instead of being so damn worried about what the rest of the world thinks about him or what the neighbors have to say about his behavior all he needs to know is what you think about it all. Do you really think that him getting together with consenting adults who all know the score is somehow wrong? He doesn’t lie to any of them and isn’t that the important part?” They all heard the subtext she knew. Jason was better than Bill and there would be no throwing of stones in this family, their glass houses couldn’t take the strain. 

“Bill has never lied to me!” Good she was finally getting in the game a little. Confronting it all head on, that was at least a good start.

“I suppose that would depend on what you consider a lie. Is a lie only what people say or do you think that a lie of omission is still a lie? If you simply choose not to say something, are you still lying?”

“Of course it is!”

“I think so too and that’s what makes Bill a liar. He chose to not tell you about the side effects of the blood exchange when he rescued you from those drainers. He didn’t tell you about the dreams or the connection he just let you walk into it blind, and sure he might have chosen to not tell you beforehand because he didn’t want you to refuse and die but what was his excuse after the fact? Once the blood was in you, it was in you there was no reason to keep it from you then so you would be prepared when the dreams came. Then when he took you to Fangtasia to investigate why didn’t he explain a bit more about vampire culture before you went or at least filled you in on what it means to be claimed or to declare yourself as belonging to a vampire on the off chance that he might have to make the statement to protect you in the crowd? Is informed consent just too much of a hassle for him? Not to mention that fact that you two have been _dating_ for a few months now and banging on the regular but you have found out more about Bill from Eric than Bill himself. He tells you nothing about his human life or his vampire one even though both have at least a little to do with you. If you had known more about his vampire life after meeting his old nest-mates the hereby dubbed Disco Triplets you might have been a bit more prepared when it came to meeting other vampires from his past like his oh so insane Maker who at least wouldn’t have been such a surprise. Not to mention Bill is related to people of our town and I don’t even think he knows which ones, that might be a little something from his human days that could be of interest don’t you think. There’s a reason small towns are always so interested in genealogy and it has nothing to do with a wistful view of the past and everything to do with safeguarding the future. So why is he so damn secretive?”

Sookie was starting to work up a real head of steam and anyone who looked at her could see it. She didn’t like being called out about things she had not answers for it made her feel stupid which in turn fed into her anger. Jerking up out of her chair she rushed off towards the bathroom in a huff.

Daina thought about continuing and getting it all out in the open now, but Sookie was no longer the right head space to listen to her or anyone else and if she was being honest she was no longer in the right frame of mind to lecture rather than attack. If they kept going now they would all end up saying things they would regret and would never be able to take back no matter how much they might want to. 

Looking towards Jason she found him making eyes at their waitress in the now empty diner and thought he might just have the right idea. They could all use a little break from all the heavy talk and a little harmless fun might just be what they all needed.

Or at least what she and Jason needed.

* * *

Sookie ran towards the bathroom, she needed to get away from this. From them. Closing the door tightly behind her she leaned against it and took a few deep breaths trying to calm her racing heart. 

Was Daina right? Was she somehow stunted? She didn’t think so, but then again she hadn’t really thought about any of the stuff Daina had brought up at all before so maybe she was and just hadn’t noticed. She had never thought herself naive before, her telepathy had always given her a look at thoughts and things well before she was ready to see them, but she always thought that just gave her a level of maturity over her peers. What if it had really done the opposite and left her vulnerable to people’s lies and unable to really read them without the help of her telepathy?

Now that her mind was calmer she tried to think about everything that Daina had accused her of, everything that Jason hadn’t disagreed with and searched her mind for some kind of rebuttal she could use once they were in the car. This conversation was far from over and next time she was going to be a more active participant. This time she had sat there and been lectured to, she let her mind fill with doubts and questions just because the answers didn’t roll off her tongue. Now that she had a moment away from the constant badgering maybe she could think a bit more clearly and come up with those answers Daina said she didn’t have.

Only her mind wasn’t clear, if anything it had begun to fog with everything she could hear and feel coming from beyond the door. While she couldn’t get anything from Daina without her actively projecting and her mind automatically shied away from Jason after years of conditioning there was no such refuge away from their partners. Her shields were in tatters after a long day of trying to hold everything together and now she was wide open to everything she didn’t want to see or feel.

She could feel the desire coursing through the veins of Jason’s “date” her litany of thoughts about how lucky she was and how she never wanted the night to end. She could see the images in the mind of the man watching Daina getting clearer and clearer as he tried to burn the memory in deep so he wouldn’t lose a single moment of it to time. She could feel the need building in the woman between her cousins legs as she mentally begged to be given more. Her mind was a never ending loop of others thoughts and litanies. 

_More. Please. So good. Can’t believe this is real. More. Please._

Their lust and pleasure was rising higher and higher by the minute and she couldn’t come up for air. She was drawing in it. Feeling the jolt of fingers against her wet center her eyes flew open, she hadn’t even realized that she had closed them, and found herself alone. Her only company was her reflection in the mirror showing her hand inside her shorts. She didn’t remember moving to touch herself but she couldn’t stop, she needed this so bad.

_More. Please. I can’t believe this is real. More. Please._

Her breasts were tingling, begging to be fondled and used her hands seeking more and more of her own flesh as her breathing sped up faster and faster. The harsh sounds of her own moans echoing across the tile, sounding louder and louder in her ears. Oh God.

_More. Please. I can’t believe this is real. More. Please._

She and Bill had a very healthy and active sex life but she had never felt anything like this before with him. It was just so raw and animalistic.

Thinking of Bill she knew he would disapprove of this entire show as well, he was a gentleman and he would not abide by such public acts of lewd behavior. She could not believe her brother and her cousin were engaging in such acts so publicly. They were pretty much out in the open, where anyone who walked in for a late night coffee could see them in all their glory. 

"More. Please."

She was so caught up in it all she didn’t hear the moan that echoed off the walls of the tiled room she’d barricaded herself in anymore, more real than any of the others. It was all just too much.

* * *

“Sookie.”

Bill could feel his Sookie’s pleasure winding through his veins, it burned so bright he could barely stand it. Pulling out his phone he called to her, he needed to stop this and when they were finally reunited he would put a stop to her association with that degenerate cousin of hers. He knew this had to be her doing. Ever since she came into their lives his beautiful southern belle had become so distant and unnecessarily willful, if he didn’t put an end to her rebellion soon the Queen might deem him unable to handle the situation and send someone else to procure her telepath for her.

The phone rang once. Twice. Three times. By the fourth ring he could hear it begin to creak beneath his fingers and had to remind himself to not hold the flimsy material so tightly. If he broke his phone he knew none of the others would allow him the use of theirs to make his call. Not even Jessica and he was loath to resort to an order over so trivial a matter and lose face in front of Eric. 

The sound of the phone connecting pulled his mind back on track, but the sounds from it sent him spiraling farther into rage. There was moaning, deep and guttural, coming from the other end and there was nothing he could do about it. From the way he perked up and started to smirk he knew Eric could hear it as well and understood its implications. Sookie could very well be severing her connection to him, if she did that in hearing distance of Eric there would be nothing he could legally do to keep them apart. 

He should have waited to make his call until after they had landed and he could find somewhere more private but by then it would have been too late. He knew his darling wasn’t like the rest of her sinful family, but that didn’t mean she could not give into temptation. He needed to keep himself clear in her mind if he wanted to keep her in his life.

“Sookie.” He waited, the heavy sound of breathing in his ear, for his darling girl to begin apologizing. For the feeling of euphoria through their bond to dampen and disappear. For her to explain herself. 

“Sorry Bill, cousin Sookie is a tinsy bit busy right now and doesn’t have her phone with her. Can I take a message?” Daina! That girl was a menace, if she had Sookie’s phone then there was no way for him to contact her without going through the other girl and he knew there was no way she would ever assist him. She had made her feelings regarding him quite clear from the beginning.

All he could do now was keep the hussy on the line and hope that Sookie was near enough to her to hear their conversation and be brought to her senses that way. Glancing up he caught sight of all the eyes on him and wished again that he had more privacy for this call.

* * *

Daina knew that Bill would be able to feel what Sookie was up to through their “bond” and had pocketed her phone as a precaution. Though she hadn’t foreseen this particular emotion being the one to trickle back to good old Billy-boy she knew something would get his attention eventually. If the un-brainwashing was going to work then she needed to keep her away from Billy boy in all forms for as long as possible. Though she would admit she had thought that the emotion that would tug at him would be anger, she would take what she could get.

Hearing his voice was a real buzz kill, though the beautiful waitress between her legs was a real trooper about her lagging enthusiasm. The good looking cook stroking himself to the show didn’t hurt either, between the two of them she should be able to reach her own pleasure easily even with a whiny voice in her ear. She by no means had to carry the conversation though, all she had to do was make sure her cousin's honey understood that he was in no way involved in what was happening here and that any retaliation on his part would be met with equal force from her side of things. Like she said before she now had her own vamp to throw in the fight and she would, at her earliest opportunity. She was pretty sure she and Godric were solid like that.

Putting the phone on speaker she set it beside her and motioned for her lovely partner to continue. The redhead was talented with her tongue and had been fantasizing about doing just this act to her ever since they walked in off the street. Really she was just giving the girl a chance to fulfill a fantasy, she loved doing that for people. 

“Bill I’ll make this quick since I have much more interesting things to do than talk to you and the sound of your voice is making a valiant effort to dry up my vagina. Whatever the hell you might be feeling from Sookie right now has nothing to do with you. The two of you are not exclusive and any pleasure she might or might not find on this little journey home we’re on will in no way have any kind of blow back from you. If you try to go all he-man macho dipshit on her when you see her again I will put all of my considerable efforts into making your life a living hell. I will take everything from you Bill and I will enjoy doing it. Since I can’t make myself any clearer than that I think we’re done here. Toodles.”

Before he could sputter out a genuine response she hung up the phone, she really did have better things to do. 

“You’ve been such a good girl, how about I return the favor and if someone wanted to jump on the back end I wouldn’t say no.” Smirking at the two dazed employees she finally let herself go and just let the pleasure of the moment wash over her. This was how life should always be.

Fun.


	4. Home Base

  


Sookie climbed into the car with her face on fire, she knew she was as red as a tomato and she didn’t want to have to talk about it with her cousin, and she certainly didn't want to talk about it with her brother. Not after _that_. What they had done was beyond obscene and they should be as ashamed of themselves as she was ashamed for them, but she knew they weren’t. If they had been they never would have done it, like she would have never done it. They had been in public, they had been with strangers, they had been everything the people of Bon Temp accused her family of being. Didn’t they know they were playing into everyone's expectations, didn’t they know they had to be better than that if they wanted to change peoples minds about them.

“Why would I want to do that, it sounds exhausting, besides that’s your problem not mine. I’m not the one trying to fit in.” Daina sounded offended like the idea of being like the people around her was worse than death. Like she didn’t think normal was worth striving for.

Sookie tried to hold in her sigh of frustration but didn’t quite manage it. _You really need to stay out of my head or at least stop answering me out loud. It's rude and part of_ ** _your_** _problem. You don’t respect people._ She certainly didn’t respect her family, if she did she would have stopped a long time ago, not just carried on getting more and more outrageous. _Maybe I’m wrong though and you’re right and that is one of my problems, but you know what I’m not the only one in this car with issues. Your problem is you don’t listen to the people around you._ At least she didn’t listen to what they actually wanted her to listen to. Daina was so busy getting in peoples heads she forgot that normal people couldn’t do that and that she **_shouldn’t_** do that.

“And your problem is you listen too much. Sookie honey it might have slipped your notice but we’re born and raised southern white trash if it wasn’t this they talked about it would be something else. People will always talk Sook, it’s like a favorite hobby, that don’t mean you gotta listen. You sure as hell don’t have to let it run your life. I sure don’t. I do what I like as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone else I don’t see why it matters, to you or anyone else.” Daina sounded as tired and emotionally drained as she felt and that just wasn’t fair, she was the one getting picked on not Daina. Daina was the picker on-er.

“What you and Jason do reflects on me!” They were family, they were collected together in people's minds and judged to be the same as one another. She worked hard her whole life to live down Jason’s tom-cat ways and his general lack of motivation and allergy to responsibility just to have Daina roll into town and act more like him than her. She was showing everyone in town that their family was more like Jason when it all came down to it and she was sick of it. Her family was so much more than their worst behavior and she wanted people to see that.

“Not when it comes to the people who really matter it doesn’t. Have Tara or Lala or heck even Gran ever held what Jason does against you? I know they’ve never held what I do against you, for one they don’t know what I do and for two even if they did they would be hard pressed to link the two of us together given how long it’s been since anyone in your life has seen me. So just settle down, it’s not like something that happened in a roadside diner halfway between home and Texas is going to come back on you later. How you react to it might just come back on you sooner than you think though, like now.” 

“What do you mean  _ how I react _ ?” Her reaction was perfectly natural, normal even. What they did was shocking and she was shocked, end of discussion.

“I will not be judged Sookie Stackhouse, not by strangers, not by family, not by ANYONE! Do you hear me? You have a right to govern your own actions, choose for yourself what you do and don’t feel comfortable doing but at no time are you ever allowed to judge the action I or anyone else choose for our lives. Do you understand?”

That put her back on her heels. No one had ever yelled at her like that before, they had always just smiled at her when she gave them what for and even sometimes took her words to heart. She was just trying to help.

“No you’re not, you’re trying to control and that is not okay. You are pious and polite and conscious of your every move trying to keep everyone around you happy and that’s fine because that’s who you are as a person. I am impulsive and a little morally shaky and I couldn’t care less what the people around me think about what I say or do because that’s who I am as a person and that's okay too. Jason is somewhere in the middle of the two of us he is overly sexualized but he never intentionally makes anyone feel bad about themselves, he’s impulsive and doesn’t always think things through at the offset of a plan but he does eventually slow down and give it a minutes thought and if he was wrong he owns up to that and tries to make it right, and while he doesn’t really think before he talks if someone gets their feelings hurt by something he says he tries to make it up to them even if his attempts aren’t always the best he still tries. Now, tell me what’s so wrong with that?” She was trying to confuse her, trying to make all the negative things sound like positives and she wasn’t going to let her do it.

“I know he tries, but he also messes up more than most too. His trying only comes into things after he messes up not before.” She knew if Jason could just start caring about things in the right order he could fix his life. He didn’t care about people's feelings until after he hurt them, he needed to start taking them into account before they got mad at him not after.

_ And what makes you think your opinion on his life matters? You want to fix your brother and make him more mindful of people and their feelings but he’s been sitting right behind you in this car for the past twenty minutes while you run him down like a dog and pretty much shout out to the whole world that you think his life is a giant mess and worth a whole lot of nothing. Maybe you should work on your mindfulness before you start going after others. _

Sookie whipped around in her seat to look at Jason sitting still and quiet in the seat behind her, his eyes wide and a little wet with unshed tears. She had been so focused on her argument with Daina she had forgotten to sensor what she said about him where he could hear her.

_ That’s another thing right there, your naive nature is rearing its head again. You seem to think that if you only say it where he can’t hear it if that’s in your head or only when he’s not around then it’s not hurtful. It is! Even if he doesn’t hear you saying it Sook he can see you thinking it and it’s more than obvious in the way you treat him. Heck half the town probably knows how you feel about Jason and the way he lives his life. _

“I am not naive!” She really wished Daina would stop calling her that, she might have decided to stay in her small town since her affliction didn’t do well in bigger areas but that didn’t make her stupid.

“Yes you are! If the way you see your relationships isn’t enough to convince you then maybe thinking about the way you treated that poor bellboy back at the hotel will.”

“What about him? He was the first telepath I’ve ever met outside of our family. I just wanted to help him.”

“I know you did Sookie, you were broadcasting that desire loud and clear, but that’s the problem you were so busy wanting to help him that you didn’t notice he didn’t want your help. The boy was even farther in denial of his gifts than you are, for fucks sake Sookie he got a job at a vampire hotel to try and find at least a bit of peace surrounded by mental voids in a big city full of too much chatter. All he wanted to do was fly under everyone’s radar and there you were jumping up and down practically waving flags in that same vamp hotel that there was something interesting about this one guy so please come over and look. Your advice to concentrate until his hair hurts from the strain wasn’t really advice at all but a vague ass description of what it feels like for you when you put up your mental shields not a way to actually get them up there so that was no use to him, you didn’t even say what to concentrate on just to do it. Was he supposed to concentrate on the voices? The voids? His own inner voice? Nobody knows cause you never said. Then the boy practically ran for cover when you finally let him out of the corner you trapped him in and you were so happy to meet him you didn’t even notice how uncomfortable he was. You say I don’t listen, but honey you don’t see or hear anything you don’t want to and that’s naive to the extreme.”

She hadn’t done that. Had she? She had been so excited to meet someone other than a relative who was like her, finally there was a reason to think this dang curse wasn’t against just her and her blood. Had she been so excited she overlooked the way the other guy felt about her being there? Well even if she did, that wasn’t being naive, that was just being a little too enthusiastic it happened all the time to people, she was not different.

“For heaven’s sake Sookie no it doesn’t happen all the time and yes you are different. Most people don’t have telepathy so they have to read the person in front of them in a different way. They would have noticed the way he shifted from foot to foot like he wanted to run away, the way his eyes darted all around the two of you to see if anyone was paying attention to your interest, the way he looked closer and closer to passing out the longer you talked he was panicking so hard. You are different, your telepathy has made it where you just don’t notice if someone isn’t thinking about how uncomfortable they are in clear loud sentences.” Daina stopped and took a deep breath like she was trying to wrestle the words back under control which didn’t bode well for what she wanted to say given what she’d said already.

“Look Sookie, I can’t convince you that you need to take a harder look at yourself and your life, only you can do that. Only you know if you’re really happy in a  _ relationship _ with a guy who doesn’t respect you and who doesn’t tell you even basic things about himself without making a big deal about his fangs first. Only you know if you’re content working at a bar where everyone looks down on you because you stare at them like you’re looking through them and answer things they not only didn’t say out loud but don’t remember thinking about either. Only you know what your next move should be, I’ve said my peace and Jason as mighty mouse as he is about hurting your delicate feelings has said his.”

She spoke with finality like the conversation was over just because she was done talking. Well, it wasn’t, not by a long shot. 

“You’re so gung-ho about my relationship and my vampire, what about yours? You want to talk about my life and how I treat my family, what about yours?” Turn about was fair play! If they were going to go into her life and Jason’s life then Daina should be willing to have her own looked at.

“You couldn’t look at my life if you tried, you don’t know anything about my life but fine if that’s the conversation you want to have then that’s the conversation we’ll have. If this is what you think will make you feel better than fine, let’s do this.” Sookie was starting to think she might have gone down the wrong path. When Daina got really mad it was best to just leave her alone not rile her up more, and riled she was.

“What did you want to start with? Family? Well my mother the paragon of virtue who decided to move me away from family just because she thought telepathy was catching or something and she didn’t want me to tell my father about her romp with the truly offensively ugly pool boy. Well, you will be happy to hear she has not grown as a person at all in the intervening decade since you last saw her, in fact the only thing to change is that now she’s trying to recapture her youth by signing me up for every ridiculous beauty pageant she can find in our county or the surrounding hundred miles or so. So you are right enough that I came running towards Louisiana not to save you but to avoid being slathered with toxic sludge they call make-up and stabbed to death with pins to hold my dress tight enough around my middle to show off my  _ figure _ at its best. While the whole time she’s busy boffing the lighting guy off stage.”

Daina was working up a whole head of steam at this point and Sookie didn’t blame her. She had from time to time wished that her parents hadn’t died, if for no other reason than just so that she and Jason weren’t such a burden to their Gran during her twilight years. Now she wasn’t so sure, because as bad as Daina’s mom seemed to be she could remember her mother being much the same in their youth. Would her mom have continued down her already downward spiral instead of getting better along the way? Could she have watched it happen and still become the girl she was now? Or would she be more like Daina.

“Of course you’re probably thinking at least my father is there for me.” The look she cut her way with her eyes told Sookie that she knew better but was giving her at least a verbal benefit of the doubt if not one in actuality. “Well, my father lost himself to the bottle long before we even left Louisiana and never really crawled back out of it. I give him about three more years before there’s a new funeral for you two to dress up for. He’s been barely conscious for pretty much the whole of my life.” Daina didn’t sound bitter, she just sounded like she was talking about the weather. Like what she was saying had no real impact on her life at all.

Sookie was starting to regret taking her anger out on Daina, because now all she felt was grief. Grief for the relationship they used to have and don’t anymore. 

“What was your other conversation dot? Godric. Sure, let’s talk about him. He is interesting and fun, end of story. I went up to that roof to give him the last option to turn back and he took it, now we’re just drifting along until one or both of us drift in a different direction. End of story.” That sounded beyond sad to her for some reason.

Sookie opened her mouth to try and apologize or maybe start a less charged conversation, something, when Jason reached up from the backseat and put his hand on her shoulder. Looking back at him she saw him shaking his head to get her to keep quiet. They were all done with talking for the night and they were almost home. Everything could wait until they got home.

* * *

Godric looked around Fangtasia with a sneer of distaste on his lips. He understood the necessity of it and even the allure for the younger ones, but it made him want to tear it all down. He could feel from his Childe that he knew what he was feeling and found amusement at his reactions. That was fine, as long as Eric never tried to make him sit on display in this monstrosity he would leave it standing for him. 

Pamela was a surprise, while he had never met the woman before he had felt the way Eric indulged and adored her throughout their time together and he had expected something far worse than he found. While he did not necessarily approve of how much she was indulged it was not his choice to make so he chose to let it go.

Compton and his progeny had chosen to not follow them to the _ club _ , so they were alone, which was good for Eric and his standing in his retinue. If any other vampire was present and saw their Sheriff kneeling before him he would become a target of intrigue and incessant questions and he did not want that. He had already explained to both Compton and his progeny what would befall them if they breathed a word of his place in Eric’s life. 

He came to Louisiana to be near his newest interest, not to step from one power structure into another. He had no interest in usurping anyone’s authority as long as they left him alone, but if anyone came between him and Daina he would respond accordingly. 

He already had  _ permission  _ to move into the Area, he had a home waiting for him that came equipped with a secure area for him to rest though he would be staying with Eric until he was sure of the security offered there. There was no need to be so careless with his life now that he had chosen to exist for at least a little while longer. 

Soon enough his new life would begin and he was truly looking forward to it for the first time in centuries.

* * *

Jason sat in his sisters’ house trying to think through everything that had happened to him that night. Not even really only that night, but since Gran’s funeral. Or before that even, before Maudette Pickens crashed into his life and made him question everything. His life had been a wreck for a while and he wasn’t sure how to fix it but tonight had shown him that it wasn’t really as simple as just trying really hard to do the right thing. Heck, it wasn’t even just succeeding at doing the right thing. 

He wasn’t sure what he wanted to do with his life, but he was sure of one thing and one thing only.

“Daina if you want you can come over and stay at mine for a while. I got a spare room and everything just sitting around waiting for someone to fill it.” He didn’t want her being forced to go home, though he knew better than some that forcing Daina to do anything never ended well, he didn’t want to leave her having to choose between one bad situation and another either. He might not be good at much, but one thing he was always proud of was he was good at protecting them that needs it.

“Sure cousin Jason, I would love to.” Sookie looked about ready to spit nails and for once he found he didn’t really care. Daina had pointed out a fair few things that he hadn’t really thought of himself before and now that he was thinking about it he damn well didn’t like it none. Sookie was going to learn here shortly that while she saw herself as a good person that didn’t mean he was a bad one and she needed to stop treating him like he was. 

Things were about to change in the Stackhouse Clan.

  
  



End file.
